(Equal
partnership/discipleship/faithful stewardship of creation being co-creators
with God)
Introduction: The doctrine of
creation is fundamental for everything that follows in Christian theology. It is the basic assertion about the relation
of God to the world, namely, that they are creatures. It is the theological presupposition of the
Christian affirmations about the incarnation, salvation and eschatology. In this study we will attempt (1) biblical
perspective; (2) Jesus the environmentalist; and (3) co-operative dominion of
men
1 Biblical perspective: God is the maker of heaven and earth. As creator, God depends upon nothing but the
divine power and wisdom (Gen.1; Job 38).
Even if something is there before God acts, it is thoroughly
insignificant, barely worth mentioning-darkness, formlessness, chaos- and
biblical writers exhibit little theoretical concern with it. God has no rival in wisdom, power, and righteousness
before or after the act of creation.
This understanding of creation is assumed by Jesus and
the NT authors. But the latter authors
go on to interpret creation christologically.
On the basis of the OT testimony to the word and Wisdom of God as the
divine instrument in creation, these authors identify Christ as the agent in
creation (1 Cor.8:6; Col.1:16; Heb.1:2; Jn.1:3). The fundamental meaning of
this is that in Christ is manifest the meaning of God’s plan or purpose which
began to unfold in the act of creation (Eph.1:9f; Col.1:16). History from beginning to end is under the
sovereign purpose of God as revealed in Christ.
Salvation is the fulfillment of creation and not an escape from the
creation. In Christ humanity meets the
one who is the essential meaning and structure of its created nature. The basic message of the NT is that the
redeemer is the creator. Gilkey
described this as “the most fundamental affirmation of the OT and NT”
Human beings are special projects of divine creativity
(Gen.1:26-27; 2:7; Ps.8:5) whether or not Adam is the first living creature God
fashions (Gen.2:4ff.) or the last in the series (Gen.1:26ff.). The great point is expressed as image,
likeness (Gen.1:26). The NT greatly
expands and enriches this conviction with images of family life: God is the
Father, we are members of the divine household (Rom.8:14ff.), sons and
daughters. Jesus Christ is the firstborn
among many sons (Rom.8:29); in eternity he is appointed to be the head of the
household (Col.1:15ff.); he is the one alone in whom the divine will is
perfectly manifested (Jn.5:19ff.).
2 Jesus the
environmentalist: Ecological
crisis and Christology is an important area of study in Christian
theology. It is important to note that
Jesus did not face the magnitude of global destruction that we face today. Hill portrays an environmentalistic picture
of Jesus, “The gospel portrays Jesus as a
man of the earth, a Jew devoted to the Hebrew tradition that the earth is the
Lord’s and has been given to his people as a good gift…He grew up among people
who prayed: ‘The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament
proclaims his handiwork” (Ps.19:1)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus points to both wildflowers and birds
as examples of God’s love and care are extended to creation. In his parables also Jesus demonstrates a
sacramental sensitivity to the revelation of God’s saving power as discovered
in sown seeds, harvests, vineyards, and flocks of sheep.
(a) Miracles of Jesus as symbolic of God’s
power over creation: The natural miracles of Jesus, for instances, the
walking on the water and the calming of the storm, are symbolic of God’s power
over creation. The healing miracles of Jesus also demonstrate God’s desire for
healing and wholeness. In the gospels we
meet a God who moves powerfully against all that subverts creation and who
intends that the resources of creation be healed, sustained, and shared.
(b) Incarnation: Re-creation of all
reality: The doctrine of incarnation
teaches that God entered the real material world and became a human being: “The
Word became flesh, and lived among us” (Jn.1:14). John Duns (1308) proposed that the
incarnation was in God’s plan from the beginning and represents a climatic
stage of creation. Accordingly, the
divine goal for creation was to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus and would
then move toward an ongoing re-creation of all reality through Christ. Therefore, Christ is the creative force
behind a new creation, which is taking place now and which will reach its completion in the end to
come. Incarnation brought a new dignity
for materiality. Matter is to be valued
and respected not just used and discarded.
The dualism between spiritual and material is overcome.
(c) Jesus in the context of cosmos: The concept of Cosmic Christ
place Jesus Christ in the context of the cosmos
Paul writes, “…he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of
time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth,”
(Eph.1:9-10). Paul further says, “He is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all
things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominations or rulers or power-all things have been created
through him and for him. He himself is
before all things, and in him all things hold together,” (Col.1:15-17). Such an understanding integrates creation and
salvation. Salvation therefore comes
within history for the whole of creation.
3 Co-operative and
responsible dominion of men: The
biblical approach to the environmental issue is to ask this basic question: to
whom does the earth belong. How shall we
reply? The first answer is
straightforward: ‘The earth is the Lord’s,
and everything in it,’ (Ps.24:1). God is
its creator, and so by right of creation is also its owner. But this is only a partial answer. Here is the other answer: ‘The highest
heavens belong to the Lord; but the earth he has given to man,’ (Ps.115:16). So then, the balanced biblical answer to our
question is that the earth belongs to both God and man-to God because he made
it, to us because he has given it to us.
Of course, not that he has handed it over to us so completely as to
retain neither rights nor control over it, but that he has given it o us to
rule on his behalf. We are only tenants;
God himself remains the landlord, the Lord of all the land. We may legitimately make three affirmations
from biblical materials (such as, Gen.1:10-12, 24, 26, 28):
(a) God gave man dominion over the earth: We note two divine resolves of
Gen.1:26: ‘Let us make man in our image’ and ‘let them have dominion over the
earth.’ We note also two divine actions
in Gen.1:27-28 where his resolves were expressed: ‘So God created man in his
own image’ and God said to the, ‘Fill the earth and subdue it.’ Thus from the beginning human beings have
been endowed with double uniqueness: we bear the image of God and we wield
dominion over the earth and its creatures.
God has provided in the earth all the resources of food, water, clothing,
shelter, energy and warmth we need, and he has given us dominion over the earth
in which these resources have been stored.
(b) Our dominion is a co-operative
dominion: In exercising our God-given dominion, we
are not creating the processes of nature, but co-operating with them. It is clear from Genesis 1 that the earth was
made fruitful before man was told to fill and subdue it. It is true that man can make the earth more
fruitful. He can clear, plough, irrigate
and enrich the soil. He can manage the
soil by rotating his crops. He can
improve hi stock by selective breeding .
He can produce hybrid grains with a fantastic yield. He can mechanize his reaping and threshing by
using huge combine harvesters. But in all these activities he is merely
co-operating with the laws of fruitfulness which God has already established.
(c) Our dominion is a delegated, and
therefore a responsible dominion: That is, the dominion we exercise over
the earth does not belong to us by right, but only by favor. The earth belongs to us not because we made
or own it, but because its maker has entrusted its care to us. This has
important consequences. If we think of
the earth as a kingdom, then we are not kings ruling our own territory, but
viceroys ruling it on o0 the king’s behalf, since the king has not abdicated
his throne. Or if we think of the earth
as a country estate, then we are not the
landowners, but the bailiffs who mange and farm it on the owner’s behalf. God makes us, in the most literal sense,
‘caretakers’ of his property.
Conclusion: We have seen
that the cosmic image of Christ is in continuity with the historical and risen
Lord, who exercises a divine power within the universe and draws it toward its
final completion and fulfillment. And in relation to ecology the testimony of
the Bible is that humanity is called to be God’s gardener and obedient agent in
caring for the creation to promote the well-being of the creation and of
humanity under God (Gen.2:15; Lev.25:1-5; Deut.22:6; 25:4). If therefore our dominion over the earth has
been delegated to us by God, with a view to our co-operating with him and
sharing its produce with others, then we are accountable to him for our
stewardship. We have no liberty to do
what we like with our natural environment; it is not ours to treat as we
please. ‘Dominion’ is not a synonym for
‘destruction.’ Since we hold it in trust,
we have to manage it responsibly and productively for the sake of both our own
and subsequent generations.
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